Miami Heat's LeBron James to Bring Back Pregame Ritual

By Will Connolly

Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

For many, many years, LeBron James started off every game by mashing some chalk between his hands and then clapping those hands together to create an array of white dust to rain down from above. In the 2011 playoffs, he brought this ritual to a very abrupt halt. However, he announced Wednesday that he will be bringing back his illustrious routine back to the court.

“It’s just me,” James said. “I love my fans and they wanted it back. They wanted me to do it, so it’s back.”

James, who is the new poster child for the video game NBA 2K14, will grace the cover for the very first time. Of course, he will be seen doing his signature chalk toss on the cover. This cover served as an announcement that his pregame ritual would return.

James also made his own form of an announcement by tweeting a picture of the new game with the hashtags #CoverBoy, #StriveForGreatness and #PowderTossComingBackToAnArenaNearYou.

Every superstar has their signature move or at least some sort of pregame routine that distinguishes them from the rest, like teammate Dwayne Wade doing pull ups on the rim before each game, or Brooklyn Nets‘ Kevin Garnett banging his head against the pad of the hoop to hype himself up. LBJ now returns to maybe the most famous pregame ritual of all.

I’m glad to hear that King James is returning to his routine, because it’s a fan favorite and it really brings the crowd into the game. I think his reasoning for initially bringing this ritual to a halt was because he wanted to become a more serious basketball player and concentrate on winning championships rather than having fun.

But now that’s he’s accomplished those feats and has become a much more mature all-around player, I think he will find a good balance between work and play.